Should I buy this Model A Precision?

Thanks everyone for the replies! They will not allow inspection until the sale, which is certainly not ideal. I'm having the company doing the estate sale send some new pictures this week though
 
I wouldn't be surprised if it goes for well over 2K. Auction situations are not conducive to great deals, but if you have the bucks it looks like a good lathe
-Mark
 
We had about 10 of those 9A's auctioned off from the schools here in the Vancouver BC area, for between $480 and $900 CAD. Bids tend to go higher on a single item. I got the one for $480 :)
 
Was finally able to get pictures -- sale is tomorrow morning, they are accepting best offers up until an hour after it starts. Right now I'm the highest bidder, @ $950. Sure it will go MUCH higher than this, I put down my max @ $2k, could go higher.

Learned some more info about the seller, apparently he dropped dead extremely suddenly, and was in the middle of several projects, but was extremely well organized. All the accessories are included, including the Husky and all the contents. I don't know if it will be under power, but hopefully everything will check out!
 
Wow, fingers crossed for you!
 
Considering what it costs in misc. tooling, measuring devices and what else may be in the tool box, it could turn out to be a very good deal.
 
good luck! I'll have my fingers'n'toes crossed - let us know if you got it. And if you didn't we can make some sympathetic noises to cheer you up :)
 
Thank folks! Does anyone have any thoughts on any things in particular to check out when I see it in person? I've never operated one of these, and am hesitant to move much on the machine even if it's under power until I get my feet under me. If easily accessible, I'll check any gears I can see to ensure there are no broken teeth etc, check the ways and any hint of damage/chipping to the cast iron, etc. Mainly worried about things that are not repairable
 
Couple quick and easy checks without needing tools are-

Run carriage to the headstock, set the lock for slight friction then traverse toward the tailstock. Invariably it will get tighter depending on the degree of wear the bed. Its not a definitive test but a starting point.
Next check for backlash on the cross slide and compound. Its almost expected that most of these old antique lathes the nuts and screws are worn out. They can be replaced but finding parts could be difficult. Hopefully based on your description of the PO he already took care of those issues.

$1,500 - 2000 seems fair but there are so many factors involved not the least of which is availability. At some point life is passing by so don’t sweat woulda coulda +/- $500 and have to wait another 5 years.
Go get it and be happy!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top